Been Here All Along

► It's Just the Beginning

Scarlett opened the stall door and wiped away her running mascara. The thought of Randy getting hurt never left her mind. It would be all her fault if anything happened to him. Scarlett weakly stood up to see the most powerful woman in WWE, Stephanie McMahon. She pushed back her blonde hair and faced the legendary authority figure.

"Aren't you the general manager for tonight?" Stephanie asked, staring at Scarlett's tear soaked clothing. She nodded slightly. Stephanie lent out a hand and Scarlett grabbed it as Stephanie led her to the sink. "So tell me why a pretty girl like you is crying on the night that's supposed to be the best day in her life?" Stephanie asked sympathetically.

Scarlett stared at herself in the mirror and was disgusted with what she saw. Her hair was a mess and her makeup was smeared across her face. Her eyes looked blood shot and red. She took in a deep breath to calm down. Stephanie patted her on the back to assure her that things would be alright. When Scarlett finally was able to speak, she chose her words very carefully. "I don't know," but she did know, "I guess the pressure to put on a good show," she lied. She desperately wanted to tell Stephanie, because she of all people could do so much to put an end to Jericho's torment.

"Ah, I know. The WWE can be an intimidating place, but my husband saw something in you, and trust me, he doesn't just let anyone have this kind of power, even if it's just for one night," Stephanie attempted to explain.

Her words made sense to Scarlett, but truth is, she wasn't afraid at all of the job. In fact, Scarlett loved this job, and was hoping it could be permanent. The job was the least of her worries. Should she confess the truth?

"Thanks," she uttered quietly. Scarlett couldn't come clean, no matter now much she wanted. Her fear of the unknown consequences scared her more. She frowned as Stephanie noticed her gloom expression. "You sure you're alright? There's nothing else wrong?"

The words were on the tip of Scarlett's tongue and she hesitated before her answer. "No, but thanks for asking." She shook her head.

Stephanie sighed as she looked at the clock. "I've got to go talk to my father now, but if anyone ever gives you trouble, let me know, okay?" she assured Scarlett. "We'll see how they feel then after they deal with me," she smiled. Scarlett smiled slightly. "Don't be afraid, you're doing a great job so far," Stephanie told her.

 "Thank you, a lot," Scarlett tried to hide her fear. Stephanie nodded and walked out of the bathroom as her heels clicked.

It was good to know that the most powerful woman in the company had promised her safety, but Jericho scared her more. What if there was more people working with him? Scarlett was hopeless if that was the case. Something still didn't make sense though: why was Jericho targeting her of all people? She had done nothing wrong and barely knew him. That was what confused her, but she surely wouldn't let it bring her down.

Scarlett fixed herself up for the last time before leaving the bathroom and making her way over the cafeteria. Before she could sit down to enjoy a sandwich, she felt a tap of the shoulder. "Scarlett," a male voice peered over her shoulder. It was her father. "Oh hey," she replied softly.

"You need to come with me," John yanked her up and led her down many hallways.

"Where are we going?" she asked, curious.

"Vince's office," John mumbled. Scarlett immediately stopped walking in the middle of a hall. She was nervous and her voice cracked as she spoke. "Wait, what for? Is this about your match with Jericho tonight? I thought he was a good opponent----" she was cut off.

"I don't know what Vince wants, all I know is that he's looking for you, and needed me in there with you," John explained.

This can't be good.

 Scarlett was terrified to face Vince. She had heard so many stories about him being insane, heartless, and brutally blunt. What could he possibly want on her night as general manager? Scarlett sighed. "Fine, let's go," she stomped, being led by John around the building.

They finally saw a door that was Vince's office and Scarlett froze. John saw the weary expression on her face. "It'll be alright, come on," he knocked and heard Vince yell "Come in!"

Scarlett was horrified as soon as John opened the door. There, sitting across from Vince was the last person she wanted to see, Chris Jericho. He gave her an evil smirk, which scared her. She hesitantly sat beside him, while her father was on the other side of her. Chris stared at her. It was almost as if he could see her fear in her eyes, like he was staring into her soul. It was an eerie feeling that sent chills through Scarlett's spine.

"So I'm sure you're wondering why you're all in here..." Vince trailed off while John nodded. "Well Chris here proposed some ideas that I liked, and it's time for some change around here, so Scarlett, how would you like to be the permanent general manager?"

Scarlett's mouth dropped wide open. She peered at Jericho, who had a wide grin on his face. "Yes, of course, but why me of all people?"

"You can thank Chris for the pleading recommendation. He thought the role would be perfect for you," Vince explained.

Something was fishy. "Him? Really?" Scarlett questioned while Chris nodded. Scarlett focused her attention back on Vince. "Now while you will be the general manager, I still have to approve your ideas and storylines. Got it?" Scarlett nodded. "Good, we'll announce this later tonight then. That's one piece of business out of the way now," Vince said while looking at John. "As for you John, Chris was right. It's time for change, which is why I'm glad your daughter made this match for the WWE Championship tonight."

"What do you mean?" John raised an eyebrow.

"Jericho is going to be the new champion tonight," Vince confirmed.

"What?!" Scarlett jumped up from her seat and yelled. John looked at her confused and reached over to calm her down.

"I'm sorry, but this is my decision. I think it's time the universe sees a new champion. Your dad will always be the number one babyface in the company, so it's not the end of the world sweetheart," Vince explained with an emotionless expression.

Chris was sitting there smiling the whole time.

"I'll fill you on all the details once we have them all, but as of right now, John is going to lose the title tonight. Miz is going to come in and distract him so Chris can hit his finisher and capture the title," Vince started, "this'll start a feud with John and Miz and eventually it'll be Miz and Jericho against John and a partner of my choice. We'll see how everything works out."

Scarlett was enraged. Chris Jericho had it out for her, and this was all part of his plan, and she wasn't going to let him ruin her life. It took every ounce in her body not to claw out his eyes right then and there. She groaned in disappointment.

"Okay," John said, staring at the floor. "It is what it is," he shrugged.

"Glad you understand. You all can go now," Vince dismissed them.

All three of them rose from their seats and headed for the door. "Scarlett wait," Chris stopped her. She turned around and gave him the what the hell do you want  look. "Here," he handed her a folded up piece of paper, "It's a list of ideas for storylines you might want to use," he smirked before leaving.

John and Scarlett were the only two that remained when they closed the door shut to Vince's office. "I'm sorry," Scarlett apologized. She felt like all of this was her fault. "It's alright. It's not your fault, so don't sweat it," John shrugged. "I have to go get ready for my match later, so I'll catch up with you later," he said before hugging her goodbye. Scarlett could see the disappointment in his eyes, and a shame of guilt came over her and she frowned.

John disappeared around a corner and now she was alone. Scarlett then remembered the paper she was still holding. She was afraid to open it because she doubted it was ideas for storylines like Chris claimed. Her gut told her it was something else. Ultimately, Scarlett unfolded the paper and stared at the words in front of her. It was a handwritten message from Jericho. She felt like she was just given an ultimatum in a life or death situation. Her body went numb as she repeated the words over and over in her head. Scarlett's heart had been stabbed it felt like, and this piece of paper haunted her. This was the last thing she wanted to see at all. Worst of all: Scarlett had no choice but to follow its instructions.

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Dun, dun, dunnnnnn...

I can't wait until I put all my ideas together. Hope you're excited as much as I am!